Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares ticked up on Friday, following a strong lead from Wall Street, with financials driving gains along with Link Administration Holdings and Goodman Group which rose on strong earnings.

Shares in Link Administration Holdings Ltd gained as much as 9.8 percent to their highest since May 9 after the outsourced administration service provider reported a 67.5 percent jump in full-year net profit.

Teleco Telstra Corporation Ltd also helped keep the benchmark buoyant, rising about 2 percent to a more than three-month high.

Telstra was extending gains after posting a lower than expected fall in annual profits on Thursday.

On the downside, weakness in Origin Energy Ltd and health care stocks kept the benchmark’s gains in check.

Origin extended losses as it dipped as much as 3.5 percent to a more than four-month low after underlying earnings of its energy markets business fell short of expectations.

Health care stocks, which earn a substantial portion of their income in the U.S., were under the cosh due to a firmer Aussie dollar.